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Out of Bounds
| Next = | Episode list = Season 1}} The squad's investigation of a possible gang murder puts Sykes in danger and could jeopardize Capt. Raydor's career. Sharon tries to convince Rusty to meet his father. The Victim * Anthony Lewis, 16-years-old. Star quarterback at James Madison High School. Shot multiple times in his vehicle. The Suspects * Lamar "Bones" Lewis, brother of Anthony. High up in the Twilight Crips who are fighting for turf with the Trece Locos. Currently on probation for assault. * Diego Alvarado, player on the football team with Anthony. Anthony had taken Diego's position as starting quarterback. * Mr. Alvarado, father of Diego Alvarado. Evidence * No signs of robbery, wallet still in the victim's pocket. * Recent damage to the victim's vehicle's back bumper. * Paint scratches from another vehicle, color red/maroon. ** Later identified as a Ruby Red 2002 Kia Sedona mini-van. * Open glovebox with vehicle registration, insurance information, some change, hand sanitizer, and a letter of permission to drive between the hours of 11:00 PM and 05:00 AM. * No bullet holes in the driver's-side door and the window was up and intact, suggesting the door was open when the victim was shot. ** Three shots, two hit the victim in the back and one hit the passenger-side door. * Driver's door was closed after the shots were fired so the vehicles cabin light would be turned off, delaying the discovery of the body as much as possible. * Gang war for turf between the Twilight Crips and the Trece Locos. ** Three black-on-brown fights James Madison High School in just the last month. Plot Responding to a crime While Sharon Raydor and Rusty Beck were discussing about Rusty's biological father, the Major Crimes Division responded to a murder scene. After Lt. Provenza arrived on the scene and assessed the situation, he decided to call Capt. Raydor and requested her presence at the scene. At the scene, the body of a 16-year-old Anthony Lewis was found, shot to death in his car. An LAPD "black-and-white" (patrol car) had noticed the car during normal patrol, as it was parked illegally. There was recent damage to the left-rear bumper of the vehicle but no signs of robbery. Pieces of the vehicles tail light was found nearby and there was red paint in the dent, suggesting a collision with another vehicle. Additionally, the glovebox of the vehicle was also open. The victim was shot twice in the back and one additional bullet was found in the passenger-side door. There was no damage to the driver's door or window, suggesting the door was open when the shot's were fired. The killer closed the driver's door before leaving the scene, as the cabin light would have otherwise exposed the crime. At this point, Lt. Provenza and Lt. Flynn see the crime as gang crime, suggesting the victim was reaching for a weapon in his glovebox (even though no weapons were found). Det. Sanchez searched the glovebox and found vehicle registration, insurance information, some change, hand sanitizer, and a letter of permission to drive between the hours of 11:00 PM and 05:00 AM, signed by Javier Ramirez (on stationery from the James Madison High School). According to Buzz, the James Madison High School is only a few miles from the crime scene, making it highly likely that the victim was coming from there. Lt. Tao notes that his son, Kevin, is also new behind the wheel and if you put him on the road, add a little rain "which makes every LA driver crazy," there is a good situation for road rage. After this, Det. Sykes reports that Javier Ramirez is the football coach at James Madison High School and that Anthony Lewis was their quarterback, so not your typical "gangbanger," although Lt. Flynn still notes that it doesn't exclude that possibility. Capt. Raydor then suggests that they bring in coach Ramirez to help establish a timeline, and that Lt. Provenza should notify the victim's family. Provenza reveals to Raydor that there is a hold on all notifications, as ordered by Asst. Chief Taylor. It's also revealed that MCD was called to this crime scene because Taylor specifically had ordered it. Investigating the crime Back at the PAB, Capt. Raydor, along with Det. Sanchez, were meeting with Chief Taylor. Taylor stated that the area where the victim was found in is a hotbed of gang activity, and even though MCD has not yet determined if the murder is gang-related, that doesn't matter to him. As it turns out, the victim's brother is Lamar "Bones" Lewis who is high up in the Twilight Crips. According to Det. Sanchez, the "TCs" have been fighting for turf with the Trece Locos, and according to Taylor, not just in the streets. There has apparently been three black-on-brown fights James Madison High School in just the last month, resulting in the kids' parents getting mad at the LAPD, saying they are not doing their jobs. This apparently nearly "boiled over" at a recent PTA meeting. Taylor states that he knows this not because of the incident reports but because he was there, as his youngest son goes to James Madison High School. After this, Raydor re-iterates that this could be an isolated incident of road rage, but Taylor says that while it can be just that, there still are "boys" in that neighborhood with guns who do not see it that way, including Lamar Lewis, who is currently on probation for assault. Sanchez clarifies for Raydor that if Lamar would retaliate for the murder of his brother, he would do it against the Trece Locos, most likely resulting in an all out gang war. Taylor orders MCD to bring in Lamar Lewis to the PAB so they can notify him of his brother's death in a controlled environment and that MCD should hold off on contacting coach Ramirez until morning. Raydor states that these restrictions could put MCD very far behind in their investigation but Taylor doesn't budge. Taylor states that it is still the best way to ensure nobody else gets murdered and that James Madison High School doesn't turn into a "shooting gallery." After Lamar Lewis was brought in, Det. Sanchez went in to notify him of his brother's death. After the notification, Lamar thought the LAPD was messing with him but eventually he believed them. When Lamar was told Anthony had been shot, he wanted to know where it happened. Sanchez told him the place but further stated that the LAPD is investigating it as road rage, not as a gang homicide, and that the LAPD is tracing the car which they are going to find very fast. This didn't appease Lamar, as he stated that if they want to see fast, he'd show them fast. After this, Lamar stood up in anger, resulting in Sanchez also standing up an telling him that if Lamar is going to solve the problem his way, it will do nothing to help the LAPD and is just going to make it harder for them to find the killer. After this, Lamar states that "they" are all killers, referencing the Trece Locos. When Lamar was getting ready to walk out, Sanchez informed him that he is not going anywhere as his probation requires him to be at home by 10:00 PM and it is currently 10:47 PM, therefore he is in violation of his parole and would be going to jail. By the next morning, the LAPD has doubled its patrols around Madison High and SIS has all the top members of the Twilight Crips under surveillance. Sanchez also talked to a friend of his in the Gang Unit who had checked with his confidential informants and fortunately there wasn't any chatter indicating any hits on gang members as a retaliation. Patrol officers in the area of the murder also hasn't seen any tags taking credit for the murder, so all in all, nobody is taking responsibility. Provenza still notes that the day is young and that most gangbangers don't wake up until the afternoon. Sanchez also reported that the paint samples they recovered at the scene point to the suspect's vehicle being a Ruby Red 2002 Kia Sedona mini-van and he is currently checking local body shops for a matching vehicle, after which Lt. Tao notes that is doesn't seem like the vehicle of choice for a "gangster." At this point, Chief Taylor walks in asking for the status of the investigation. Raydor tells him that MCD is just about to question the victim's coach, Javier Ramirez, and that Lamar Lewis is still in custody but doesn't want to hold him for too long because he has asked for a lawyer and if the case went up to a "wrong" judge, it could look like entrapment. Taylor retorts that he doesn't care about entrapment and that they should hold his as long as it's needed. When interviewing coach Ramirez at the school, Raydor and Provenza get a timeline for the murder. According to the coach, Anthony was with him for the most of the evening, watching the film from the last game. The coach reportedly saw Anthony last at around 08:00 PM, with Provenza wanting to know if it was just the two of them but apparently the entire offensive backfield was there. Provenza noted that 8 PM was pretty late but the coach told him that if it was up to him, he'd have them stay even later. The coach tells them that because half of his team is latino and the other half is black, with a white kicker, he keeps them working, tired, and winning which keeps them as a team. The coach also has a zero tolerance for gangs, stating that their only enemies are on the field. When asked about Lamar Lewis, it was obvious Ramirez wasn't a fan. Apparently, Lamar had come to few of their games and had started trouble but further stated that Lamar had no influence on Anthony and he would have done nothing which could have jeopardized his future. Anthony apparently even had scouts come to see him play even though he was still a sophmore. When asked, the coach remembered seeing a mini-van at the parking lot when he escorted Anthony to his car, but he couldn't be sure if it was the red Kia Sedona they showed him. Back at the PAB, Provenza noted that if the coach did actually see the murderer's mini-van, it would appear that Anthony was specifically targeted, and according to Flynn, if it was the Trece's who targeted him, the gang war could go very ugly very soon. At this point, Det. Sanchez voiced his opinion against the gang homicide angle. He reported that there were no Kia Sedona's reported stolen in the last week, and according to the coach Anthony is not affiliated with gangs, and gangster don't bump each others' cars, they just shoot. Considering Sanchez's background in gang investigations, even Provenza then noted that they might be looking at something personal, and thankfully they still have Lamar Lewis in custody so they can interview him. Lt. Flynn notes that Lamar is not going to talk to the LAPD but Sanchez notes that if given the proper hints, he might actually show them. Closing the Case Interviewing Lamar again, Sanchez tells him that the LAPD knows Anthony had nothing to do with gangs, but of course Lamar does, so he asks Lamar if he thinks his brother was killed because of him. Lamar doesn't answer but Julio retorts that Lamar is not that important that the Locos Trece's would go after Anthony to get to him, because even gangs have rules, and one of those rules is "families are out of bounds." Speaking hypothetically, Julio says that Lamar would go after the guy who killed his brother and that he would just shoot him if he saw him driving down the street. This gave Julio the chance to present their evidence to Lamar, showing that Anthony's car was rear-ended to get him to pull over and that gangbangers don't wait for their victim's to reach for their insurance information. This got Lamar thinking about his brother's murder the same way the LAPD was, as in the murder was personal. Sanchez then asked Lamar if he could think of anybody who wanted to harm his brother but Lamar didn't say anything, prompting Sanchez to release Lamar on Capt. Raydor's orders. Releasing Lamar made Chief Taylor less than pleased because it is an hour before school ends for the day, stating that they are tossing a lit match at the powder keg. Raydor states that they are on to Plan B, and if the murder is personal in nature, Lamar could lead the LAPD straight to the killer. After Lamar left the PAB, Sanchez followed him straight to the high school where Sykes and SIS were already waiting for him, having anticipated his destination. At the school, Lamar briefly stopped at a memorial for his brother before heading to the football field. At the football field, at first it appeared that Lamar was going after coach Ramirez but he was actually going after Diego Alvarado, the new quarterback on the team. A brief foot chase begins, with Lamar on Diego's tail and Sykes on Lamar's. Sykes intercepts Lamar but he pulls a gun and savagely beats Sykes before being stopped by Julio. Sykes is seriously injured but survives while Lamar is arrested for his attack on her and Diego is arrested as a suspect in Anthony's murder. Julio learns that Diego and Anthony had a fight in the locker room two weeks before and Anthony had taken Diego's spot as starting quarterback which he had regained with Anthony's death. Accoring to Raydor, in gang neighborhoods, football can make a difference to a player's entire life. Getting a good scholarship could mean moving up in the world vs. getting pulled into the gang life. However, MCD is unable to find any 2002 Kia Sedona vans owned by Diego's family and Diego denies the charges. During Diego's denial, they learn his grandparents own a Kia Sedona and get a search warrant to check the van for damage. As they prepare to book Diego, his father presents a grocery store receipt as proof that he couldn't have committed the murder, however, this draws Raydor's suspicions as he has no other receipts in his wallet. Raydor realizes that Mr. Alvarado had as much reason to murder Anthony as his son and the same opportunity. Mr. Alvarado quickly claims that he chased Anthony down to confront him over his fight with Diego, but Anthony caused the crash and then reached for what he thought was a gun so he shot him in self-defense. However, as Anthony had no gang connections and Mr. Alvarado purposely set his son up to have an alibi, they realize he's lying and point out the receipt proves premeditated murder. Finally, in exchange for Raydor keeping Diego from getting kicked off the team for this, Mr. Alvarado agrees to confess to the murder. Sykes will recover from her injuries and Diego announces at a press conference that it wasn't a gang murder and his father did it. Guest Cast * Clifford McGhee (Lamar Lewis aka "Bones") * Benito Martinez (Coach Javier Ramirez) * Alberto De Diego (Diego Alvarado) * Gabriel Salvador (Mr. Alvarado) * Lucia Sullivan (Karen Alvarado) * Gabriel Benitez (SIS Officer) Recurring *Anthony Ruivivar (DDA Ozzy Michaels) Locations Episode Notes Goofs * Coach Ramirez and Capt. Raydor state that Anthony Lewis was a sophmore but Anthony's biography on the school website identied him as a senior. The site was shown to Raydor by Det. Sykes at the start of the episode while they were investigating the crime scene. Trivia *On the coach's desk is a mug with the words "keep calm and carry on" written on it. Episode Media Category:Major Crimes Category:MC Season 1 Category:Episodes Category:Special Investigation Section